Sarah Hussey
Critical Frameworks Post-Class Blog on 10/25
Dear Blog,
On Tuesday’s class we discussed Althusser and his theory related to the concept of ideologies. This has honestly been one of those things that I’ve always thought about but have never thought about too deeply or in any specific content. Althusser talks a lot about how ideology has material existence, which means ideology always exists in apparatus and it’s practices. Everything we say, see, do is an ideological concept. For example, the fact that we have collectively decided that on Tuesdays and Thursday from 2pm to 3 15pm that we would sit down together in a group and discuss theorists and their work. Althusser mentions the following quote:
“Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence” (44).
With the classroom example, this quote is heavily applied as we have an imaginary relationship with the concept of sitting down in a classroom to learn. This reminds me of De Saussure in the sense that with signs they are made up of signifier and the signified. For instance, the concept of a red rose signifying romance—it is an ideology that we as a society agreed upon.
Another quote that I found particularly interesting was the following:
“There is no ideology except by the subject and for subjects” (45).
It stresses the idea that humans view themselves as the center of the universe, which honestly none of us can deny believing. Our minds have the capability to understand the world around us better in comparison to other animals (that we know of). Therefore, the ideologies that we create surround us, the subjects and are for, us, the subjects. It makes me question the extent to which we truly understand the world around us? Is there a life without ideologies, if so do we have the mental capacity to perceive that?
Essentially, Althusser discusses ideologies in relation to humans and their relationship with the world. I find this topic particularly intriguing because it is an aspect of my life that will never escape me.
Signing off,
SarahSlays
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